Peter Pan and the Lost
by Epic0n
Summary: Peter's adventures continue with a new brood of lost children as they rebuild Neverland and discover the wonders of the island. With rumors of treasure afoot, enemies new and old will converge to cut Peter Pan down once and for all...
1. Chapter 1

Time had moved in where it shouldn't have. Yet it was kicked out as fast as it came in. The same way that wounds heal, scars are mended, bruises lose their colour, so did Neverland. The burnt trunks slowly parted for new trees and flowers. The world of imagination repaired slowly and methodically, taking suggestions from the stars and other worlds aside from Earth.

It was on this reviving island, on the shoreline of one of the new beaches, that a shadowless Peter Pan stood alone. Even the boy who Never Grew Up changed with the island. His tunic of jay feathers and autumn leaves covered his torso in a mess of tangled reds, oranges and yellows, the Glider loyally at his right side, kept there by a mess of knots . The wind blew through his dark red hair as he looked to the star where his friends left. The sky was occupied by the sun and moon, the daylight and moonlight agreeing to share the sky of a deep blue mixed with purple, black and shimmering white.

The waves lapped at his feet as he forced down the urge to fly to them and bring them back. The train waited in the station for them, with fish bigger than horses at the sides. The blue and red fairies realized there wasn't any reason to fight each other; there was nothing on the island that would eat them. He wanted to show them the changing world, even sand shifted around under his feet. But alas, he couldn't fly until his shadow grew back. So he stared upwards.

He felt like he woke up from a bad dream. He couldn't explain it, but he felt more like he was in a certain rush, like everything he had done went by too fast to really comprehend. He wasn't in the mood to have an adventure, so instead he walked. Through the charred remains of the forest. To a friend's hive, where she spent most of her time with her fellow flyer.

…

They were busy making a happier color than yellow. Tinkerbell had a huge paint brush in her arms, swirling the colors of a nearby rainbow in a counter-clockwise fashion. She had taken off the yellow ribbon and tried adding various colors that glittered and made the birds flying by feel good about themselves. Fireflyer was admiring their work from afar while trying to get the Sun's attention.

"Won't you come see this? It's the happiest color you've ever seen! You'd love it!"

The Sun looked apprehensively at how they were making the color. The rainbow didn't seem to notice.

Peter could see his light shining high in the sky. He was too determined to find others that he forgot to grow his shadow back.

"Fireflyer, where's Tink?" He shouted loud enough that even the Sun looked towards him.

"She's flown away, Pan! Never to return."

Peter gave an exasperated sigh. He learned from Slightly to not believe him. _Why did I even bother?_

 _"_ You're such a liar, Fireflyer!"

He innocently bowed in midair as he returned to haggling with the sun to use the new color.

He saw a blast of air whip across the sky, a rainbow missing its colors. It must have woken up. Tinkerbell rushed after it with a paint can.

"Wait! Wait! I can fix you! It's what I do! I fix things! Wait!"

The rainbow rushed away in shame. A rainbow without its colors is like going to school in your undergarments. It is absolutely embarrassing.

Her disappointment was abated as soon as she saw Peter. He looked much different than the last time she cared to see him. Like he woke up from a sort of trance. She flew straight to his face, embracing him on his right cheek, her small body trying to cover all of the freckles on the side of his face.

He was immediately flooded with supernatural happiness as the two of them exchanged happy memories they each experienced away from each other.

 _What are you doing here, Peter?_

 _I just came by to visit you._

 _Don't you have something more fun to do? Neverland still needs mermaids and crocodiles. No one has taken care of that yet._

It was there, as the two of them talked in their silent language, at the cliffs overlooking a growing waterfall, that they both heard the crying. He immediately crouched down to hide in the thick grass of the plains, concealing his thin body, the fairy shivering behind him. In Neverland, children's cries were as loud as a lion's roar, so hearing one for the first time in what felt like forever startled them for a second. Then, after they realized what it was, he stood up quickly and called himself names one shouldn't say out loud. Tinker Bell simply laughed at his stupidity.

The cry was of a child. A really young child.

 _Let's go visit it. Maybe it's friendly_ , he suggested as he climbed across the burnt out stumps and tree trunks. Tink, out of curiosity, followed with her husband not too far behind, as Peter strode under the huge rock formations and out to another field overlooking the sea beyond. There was still tall grass where the rocks blocked the fire, as well as a lone chestnut tree on an extended cliff overlooking a cliff. It was under that tree that the crying was located, and Peter knelt down towards the writhing dark colored flesh on the ground. It stopped crying the moment it laid its eyes on Peter Pan and the fairies.

It looked like a human baby, naked but for a loincloth around the waist, it's big dark eyes staring right back at him. Peter wasn't sure what to do as it reached for him, it's chubby arms waving towards him like a madman, one hand clutching a spiky seed that didn't seem to harm him.

 _Will it hurt us with that seed, Tink?_

To Fireflyer, she laughed spontaneously.

 _Of course not, stupid imp. That's a younger version of your kind. That's nothing more than a baby._

As much he understood from her, all he could do was stare at it. It had been so long since he had to take care of a lost child, let alone a baby. Was he supposed to take care of it? How? He hadn't done so in a long time.

Well, any other place was better than at the edge of the island, he thought, so he picked up the baby, in a matter almost by instinct, and carried it in his arms towards people who may know better. He knew that climbing the burnt hills of the forest was going to be harder with only one arm, but luckily he knew other ways.

Yet he never saw the boat that had washed up ashore sail out into the night the moment the baby was brought into the island.

…

"You were right to bring it here, Peter," Chief Soaring Eagle methodically replied to Peter's mysterious new visitor. He spoke in a deep, wise voice that gave him the impression of old age, even though he looked far younger. The weathered dark skin on his face allowed his red eyes to shine brighter than rubies in the light of the two fairies.

"You say there was nothing else next to the child?" He asked with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"Not that I can recall. It was just lying there, with a buckeye seed in its hand. That's all."

The Chief turned back to him. "There is never something that is considered 'all'. There's always a reason for this. Tiger Lily," He called in a yell which carried no of urgency. That was why Tiger Lily, his wife, only stuck her head out of her tent and did not come running out to the meeting fire.

"Please send for the Shaman."

"I would, my love, but I am nursing your daughter."

In any other world, this would have been seen as treason, but such was the behavior of Tiger Lily. The guts to even defy the Chief was why he loved her so much. She was as strong as him.

"Do not worry, Tiger Lily. I understand. Stay there.

"Peter, come with me. We'll go to her and seek insight."

They passed by the rows of Picaniny huts and shelters, surrounded by guards. The Shaman's hut was snuggled between the soldiers barracks and the storage huts, where the harvest was drying atop reeds and wood.

As usual, there was smoke trickling from the chimney to mingle with the stars and sun above. Peter was allowed in only after the Chief explained the situation.

The Shaman sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by objects from nature and of man. Various animal skulls and crocodile teeth were scattered about, as well as a sapling, vines, jars of medicines and numerous dreamcatchers hanging from the makeshift rafters. The baby was laid out horizontally on her lap. She looked up at Peter Pan, smiled and said:

"I knew this day would come."

The Chief looked behind to the boy only to see a look of confusion on his face. He turned to the Shaman and asked her to explain. All this time, the baby was focused on opening the little seed.

"The rebuilding, Peter. It's going to happen soon."

"What rebuilding?"

"The rebuilding of Neverland. The forest was never meant to stay black forever."

"How do you know?" Peter asked abruptly.

The Shaman only exhaled audibly. "It's not a prophecy, Peter. Just the balance of nature. Where there's death, there must be life. Otherwise, what is the point of death?

"The Great War on Earth, the world closest to us, caused many bad dreams to come through. Dreams of death and destruction. Of broken hopes and childhoods destroyed. That was the reason for Neverland's fall. This is cause for a celebration."

She looked up and smiled at the two of them before returning to the needs at hand.

"Yet there's still work that needs to be done. First a name…and the child has picked one out for himself."

She plucked the seed out of his chubby hands and with one swift crack, released the buckeyes to the baby's delight.

" _Buckeye_. That shall be his name."

Buckeye eyed the old lady as he held one of the nuts in the corner of his mouth, trying to get to the fruit inside.

"Now," She continued as she handed Buckeye to Peter. "This baby must be taken care of. Leave him here and we will raise him."

She turned to Peter again, her wide brown eyes defying the wrinkles around them.

"But there will be others, Peter. Other lost ones that find their way to you. Find them and care for them."

"And what if I don't want to?" Peter stood up straight, his arms crossed in front of him. He didn't like being told what to do.

The Shaman couldn't understand that. "Then you have no choice in the matter. You must find them before they die. You would need to bury them like you did so many others. Eagle, find a wet nurse for the child. Peter, go find them and bring them to us. When they are ready, you will show them the island and care for them. Unless you can do all of the work yourself…"

"Work?! Like grown-up stuff? No way." Peter didn't like the sound of that.

She chose her words more carefully after that blunder.

"Then you will make it an…adventure with the other children by your side. Now, go find your new…friends, Peter." She smirked with satisfaction as the two of them exited her hut. The Chief, without uttering another word, went into his family hut, obviously binging the question to his wife, who knew much more about the women then he. Peter, on the other hand, walked slowly down to the forest. His house needed tending to.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time all of Buckeye's baby teeth grew in, Peter's new shadow had grown in and they had moved back into the burrow, as the house suddenly missed civilization and ran back to London. The boy with the dark skin grew into the grass pants- made by the Natives for him at a young age- until they cut off at the top of his knees. His vest was a badge of honor from his first kill. It smelled of tree sap and freshly cut grass.

He learned to live in the forests, to enjoy the touch of young leaves and to tend to the forest's every need. If a tree fell down, he would scold the other trees for picking on it. He walked saplings in little prams to help them sleep at night. He even ran with the wind and swung through the vines like the apes in the canopy. He went on new adventures with Peter, exploring every known nook and cranny of the island. With Peter's imagination, they joined up with birds and flying fish, the young boy riding on Peter's back, as they rocketed into space and played catch with the rings of Saturn.

Yet nothing could prepare them for what happened next. As they rode on the Orient Express past the Neverpeaks, Buckeye noticed something on the eastern ridges or rock, riding them like they were waves in the ocean. It looked like a boy from afar, with short hair and the slim body of a child.

"He's stepping lively, Buckeye."

"What's 'lively', Peter?"

"Excited, I think."

"Oh. Should we meet him?" He asked questions in Peter's accent, but the language he learned first was that of the Picaninies, then English, so he spoke like a Red-face.

"I don't see why not. Maybe he's friendly." Peter looked more curious than cautious, so they slowly trotted down the mountain to meet the new person on the island. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, as the sun signed a treaty to share the sky with the night. The water was cool and refreshing as it rushed away from them.

"Oy, person stepping lively!"

The person didn't look behind them.

"Lively person!" Buckeye's young voice didn't resonate with them either.

They gave each other the cue. They guessed that calling them a person didn't seem right. They had a name, after all. They guessed the next word that came to mind to be their name. They called it in unison.

"LIVELY!"

The person turned around. Her delicate features and big eyes gave it away.

 _It was a_ _girl?! Since when did girls come to Neverland?!_

Her eyes, the blue glinting as boldly as the sea, took in the sight of two boys on a high point. Two boys standing over her was never a good sign. She turned and ran away from them, gracefully jumping the narrow ridges like a terrified deer.

"Wait! We won't hurt you!"

They glided together across the valley as the girl sought refuge in the forest. Her short dress dragged assorted fabric behind her, catching onto every branch that reached out. She began to panic as she heard them running after her. It didn't take her long to pull the whole dress off and bolt for the water, to possible refuge at the rock shaped like an ominous skull.

Her chasers didn't know it, but she found a path of rocks that acted as a bridge between the rock and the rest of the island. They were right underneath the water's surface, so to Peter and Buckeye, she was running on water. They stared in awe as she got closer and closer to the rock. She didn't notice that Peter could fly, so she turned around to see where they were. Thinking she was safe, she teased at them before slipping on the rocks. Her head smacked against one as she bounced off into the water. Buckeye didn't have to tell Peter to gather her in before she drowned in the rising tide.

He raised her limp body out and into the air as he floated like a heavy goose.

"Get to the tribe. I'm bringing her there."

The dark haired boy nodded and rushed back inland, only to remember the ridges a moment too late. Luckily the northeast bridge was operational, so he slid upwards and climbed downwards to the Indian wall. He recited the password to the guard ("primmed", meaning "ruined" in some other language), and arrived at the meeting fire by the time Peter was waiting with the injured girl.

Tiger Lily was tending to her while another girl, around Buckeye's age, watched her mother apply a thin papery substance dipped in oils around the girl's head, circling it around in a delicate fashion. Buckeye stood next to Peter, narrow brown eyes flickering over their new guest. Short matted honey-brown hair stuck through the bandages like grass, while small speckled cheekbones left her eyes room to grow bigger than usual.

By the time she awoke, fully dressed in some sort of grass tunic, she was surrounded by Savages, two boys and two sparkling lights that she registered as fairies. She didn't know whether to scream, to stare at her saviors or protest against her captors. For a second she heard gibberish, then it turned into coherent words around her. All she knew was that she was chased by the boys at some point, but nothing else.

"…Wondered when Lively was going to wake up. She hit her head hard, Tiger Lily."

"WHERE THE HECK AM I?!"

Her voice pierced the sky. The people near her jumped away in shock. Birds flew away in chaotic patterns. London Zoo's Gazelles looked up in alarm.

She sat up in one swift movement and fell in another. Her throbbing head gave a dizzying headache, but the bandages felt cool on the bump that shouldn't be there. The woman they called Tiger Lily soothingly forced her head back on the fur pillow amidst shushing sounds.

"Rest, Lively. Your wound won't last long. You're amongst friends now. Just rest, Lively."

She didn't remember anything. Not even her own name. Yet Lively sounded like a good substitute. She fell back asleep while calling herself that, bringing a smile to her exhausted face.


	3. Chapter 3

His feet dangled far above the rocky valley. All he had with him was a fishing rod and an urge to find a Rockabye Baby. He knew they only came out of the rockswhen no one was around, and when enticed with a tasty treat of worms.

Even though his fishing spot was perfect, Rockabye Babies still took a long time to consider if they were really that hungry, so he started to stare up at his surroundings. The high winds blew his curly hair all over the place as the sky lit up in a bright blue accompanied on one side by a sun with a far happier shade of yellow. Huge mountains peaked over the horizon, with a waterfall splitting in midair to two different pools below.

He knew he was somewhere new. All he knew was that he had been looking to find a way around the massive Kensington Gardens, to his favorite spot by the pond, without his foster parents finding him. Then he passed through a hole in the water and ended up near the massive valley.

At least no one else was around. He felt comfortable being alone, so he pulled down his pants and relaxed as his tail whipped out from below his back. It wasn't as long as some animals have it, but it was as long as his arm and was even covered in red curly hair, like a fox's. Yet it begun to feel uncomfortable winding it up underneath his pants, like a coiled spring, all of the time.

After tearing a hole in his khakis to let his extra limb move freely, he returned in time before his rod disappeared over the edge. He couldn't believe his luck. He caught something! He really did it!

Foxtail, as he liked to call himself, began to fantasize what Rockabye Baby tasted like as he pulled against the rod. He knew that once the rockabye was released from the rocks it would all be over. It was the thrusting from the rock that would be the toughest. His thin arms ached as he struggled to pull it from the rocky floor below.

Soon afterward, he heard a crunching, grinding sound as he felt his efforts reward him all at once. The release of the Rockabye flung him far from the edge, sending him on his backside. His tail helped him stand up and bring his catch up the final hundred feet.

 _Boy this Rockabye Baby is heavy! I wonder how much they usually weigh._

He couldn't really estimate but by how much his arms strained to lift it up. Slowly he turned the taunt line through the rod and pulled it over the edge in a final push through the exhaustion. He lay down on the spot in exhaustion. Sweat ran down his oval face, passing grey eyes as he stared up into the sky, taking deep breaths of the Island's air. The weather was perfect for impossibilities; not a breath of humidity could be felt as a cool breeze gently swooned over every living thing, as curious about the island's various surfaces and life as Foxtail was.

He tended to his catch, which had landed belly-up, it's tiny claw-like appendages waving helplessly in the air. He picked up the massive rock and looked it over. Aside from the claws, it had soft facial features, including small, beady eyes and a wide mouth sucking at the line that used to be occupied by worms.

As he examined it, he wondered how he could eat something like that. As he thought that, it's massive tongue lapped out and slathered itself over his right forearm. He dropped it before he screamed in revoltion. He hated the feeling of a tongue on his skin. As it crawled away, he began panicking, throwing his arms wildly, his tail whipping the air around him. He knew this feeling too well, as well as what would help. He reached up to his head and twirled his index finger around a curl and pulled. A lock of hair fell out to his satisfaction as he felt his body calm down. He would never try to catch a Rockabye Baby again.

He was still hungry after all of that hard work. Thinking a rock would be tasty had clouded up his vision and stifled the growling of his stomach. He decided to follow wherever his feet took him and figure out what to do from there.

Dry wilderness turned to lush forests of palm, maple and oak trees. He climbed over the thick bushes overladen with creepers and vines, ignoring the rough surfaces that scrapped against the knees of his pants. As sweat trickled down his back, he rolled up his dress shirt and pulled apart the stupid tie he had to wear on Sundays. He even dared to unbutton the shirt and expose his small belly to the savory heat of the understory. He wasn't even twelve, yet his prominent childhood belly had disappeared in place of a thin figure, with big legs for a child his age. Those same big legs were able to keep him quite literally on his feet as he traversed the terrain for some remnant of civilization.

He thought about how he was going to make a signal fire when he found a massive tree in the middle of a gap. It was covered in wooden planks, like it was being kept in place by a desperate construction crew. Then he saw the dozens of rotting nooses dangling from above, one of which still had the remnants of a skeleton swaying in the wind. He didn't even flinch; he just gulped loudly as he moved closer to the tree. It looked to be the only thing that had a touch of civilization for what felt like miles.

Then he saw a hole big enough to climb through. He hesitated for a bit, recalling the nooses hanging above the tree like some twisted decoration. But he saw how rotten they were, and assumed they were abandoned anyway, so he climbed inside.

What he found was unexpected and highly inviting. Piles of twigs and cut pieces of vine were strewn across the floor, as well as some apples, pears and bananas scattered on the big lump of fur in the corner. He slid down the rest of the way inside, flipped an apple up to himself and enjoyed his first meal since the mash he was forced to have that morning. As he crunched down on the apple, core and all, he looked around his new home. The sun was setting on the horizon, splashing bright orange light into the cool, dank hole underground.

The place smelled like freshly cut grass and something else… He couldn't quite put a finger to the smell. Well, he was going to have to get used to it. As the sun set farther down, he thought to maybe set up a bed for himself. He grabbed some of the vines and twigs from a big pile on the floor and dragged them to a chosen corner of the underground room. He knew that he should build a fire to warm himself up should the weather get too cold outside, especially after finding a convenient fireplace carved out of the dirt and out to above ground. He began to pile up some big twigs and find a way to light it…

When he heard people coming! He even heard them!

 _Oh no! How in the world was he going to get out of this?!_

Before he could even think of a good explanation, he was met with three more pairs of eyes staring right at him, two confused and the other inquisitive of the other two. Peter, Buckeye and Lively caught Foxtail invading their home, his tail whipping around in utter panic.

"Hey, what's that behind you?" The lanky, black haired boy pointed to his tail. Peter had been looking there already, and Lively's attention was drawn to it. He thought something else was behind him, but it was just rock and dirt. They were asking about his tail.

"Oh," he replied awkwardly, not even noticing that the other boy just spoke English.

"It's my tail. I've had it since I was a baby." He held it proudly in his hand, the tip fidgeting in his right hand. Peter was fascinated by it.

"It's as red as your hair! Like a fox's! You have a fox tail! How amazing!"

"Yeah…it is." No one had ever told him that.

"That's why I like the nickname my…friends gave me. Foxtail."

"Foxtail? Sounds perfect!" The girl skipped up to him, matching him in height, her shirt mixed with ram skin and weaved grass, passing down to her knees. She seemed to like his new name as much as the others liked his tail.

"Who…Who are you three, anyway?" He began to feel uncomfortable as she stood eye to eye, nose to nose.

"We are the ones who live here," She said matter-of-factly, "before you decided to crash in." The girl spoke as she stayed right in front of him to get a long look with her big eyes and thin unibrow.

"I mean," He relaxed as she turned away and leaped into a cross-legged seating at her own pile of leaves.

"What are your names? You already know mine."

"Well," Buckeye began, pointing to each of them as he listed their names.

"I'm Buckeye," He pointed to himself,

"She's Lively," She waved her right hand violently at him,

"And this is Peter," He stood there gallantly posing for his own portrait.

"Don't forget my last name, of course", Peter said. He turned to the small, lanky, red-haired, tail-having boy in front of him and finished his name.

"Peter Pan is my name."

 _Peter Pan? I know that name from somewhere…_

Yet he couldn't quite put a finger on it, and wouldn't even care to, especially after the rumpus they had that night. They shared uncountable stories and jokes with him and not only accepted him as one of their own, but dragged him out of the burrow into more adventures in the pitch black forest, lit by two moons and a million stars. Thus was the beginning of his new life as a member of the family of Pan, a part of the Lost that never wanted to be found.


	4. Chapter 4

She woke up surrounded by the smells of fish and algae. Her dark hair stuck to the round edges of her face and scattered over the rocks. Her legs ached in a satisfying way. She gathered herself at the edge of a lagoon, the blue-green water steaming like smoke over fire. As she groggily stood up on the rocks, she could see shapes in the water, like ones dolphins make near the surface. As she took in the world around her, she had a feeling that it wasn't home.

As she climbed up the rocks to get a closer look, she noticed the shadow of a high cliff overlooking the lagoon. A trickling stream fell off the edge like a child into their father's arms. The cliff had apparently lost rocks over the years, so she stepped on the huge rocks protruding from the underside.

Curiously, she was still wearing her bathing suit, a one-piece with maroon and yellow stripes down her body, like a colourblind Zebra. She felt rather uncomfortable after wearing it for what seemingly felt like days. She vaguely remembered her trip with her Aunt Bertha to Kensington Garden's pond, where she loved to swim. Yet her Aunt had brought someone new along and didn't want to spend time with her that much. Somehow she found a new island in the center of the pond inhabited by birds, including tiny flamingoes…

Which she now realized had grown so tall, their heads poked above the clouds! Their enormous pink feathers blew in the winds above as pillar-like legs shuffled the water, their backs carrying a body of water that swayed with each step.

 _Lagoons, on top of flamingoes! But that's not possible…_

She stared upwards until she heard another voice call to her-

"Maple! What are you waiting for? The water is fine!"

Turning down in surprise, she saw a girl waiting for her at the mouth of the lagoon, someone older than her with a beautiful shell in her hair. Her eyes were wide and blue, with sharp cheekbones that gave room for gills and slits for where a nose should be. Her pale webbed hands folded in front of her, gripping onto the moss.

 _A mermaid…_

She knew it was a mermaid, and that it knew her name. Then she remembered thinking that the island could use a mermaid or two, or three. Suddenly, she saw two other equally gracefull mermaids jump through the water in glee, as if they had returned hom from a long trip away. She looked down as more of them waited for her, their tails flapping happily beneath the water, the sun illuminating the colours in their barnacled hair.

As she stepped away from the cliffs, she jitter-bugged to the edge of a diving board. She used to do that by the ocean, but now she had no smelly saltwater to worry about. Without a second thought she somersaulted off the edge into a perfect dive over their heads.

The lagoon had bathed in sunlight enough to make the water perfectly warm. She swam up for a breath as the other mermaids surrounded her in friendly circles. Maple knew that mermaids were magical, and this time she was the reason they existed. She had seen them hatch from their unprotected eggs and led them to the sea. They even considered her royalty amongst their kind, as they never saw a human before. How many girls would reject the offer to become a mermaid princess? Surely Maple wouldn't turn that down. She even gave them names; Madeline, Dolphin, Silverfin, Azure and Sirena (a word she learned from her friend).

Her strokes were clumsy compared to the grace of the mermaids. As she swam faster, she forgot about Aunt Bertha and her whiny boyfriend Johanns. They found underwater caves and played underwater tag. They flew with the fish, her new friends helping her swim faster than she ever though she could, her legs pumping with their powerful tails. Now she remembered why her legs hurt. A mermaid held her shoulders as they streaked across the waters of Neverland, in what could only feel like a dream. Only when they suddenly stopped did she wake up; the fact that she didn't have a stopping system like the mermaids caused her to skip on the water's surface like a smooth stone.

"Oh no! Maple!"

Flipper dived down after her, but she couldn't find her. Only Azure had the idea to look up at the shoreline, the place their domain ended.

She looked up in a furious daze, forcing her brain to stop moving. She stood up and took in her surroundings again, this time with the light of the sun constantly smacking her eyes shut. After shooing it away with her hand, she finally took in the warm sand curling around her toes, the breeze churning the leaves of the palm and oak trees and the never ending stretch of beach covering the island like the cover of a beautiful picture book.

She never expected to see other humans here, yet there they came. Two of them and a third flying-

A person was _flying?!_ She had never seen that before.

Then the flying one sped at her at top speed, a sword glinting in the light.

She knew what it was like to see someone wield a weapon at her. It never ended well.

"Maple! Come back to the water! Now!"

Azure crawled up to the shore, her powerful arms pulling like a sea turtle. She heeded her advice without second guessing. She was safely in the water in time to seek cover amongst mermaids.

It's never been documented what a mermaid looks like when in danger, but when their favorite human is threatened, they don't swim away quietly.

They snarled at pitches only a crocodile could match in ferocity. Their mouths extended upward, exposing their many rows of ripping teeth. Their eyes expanded as their gills inflated to double their size. Their tails found a balance in the water, standing on the water itself to a frightening 6 feet high.

Yet Peter stood his ground, facing them with sword poised in his favourite form; sword extended in his left hand with his right petting the air behind the ear. Lively, Buckeye and Foxtail stopped running and stared at the spectacle only a few feet in front of them. Only Lively could speak through the standoff.

"What _are_ you? Some kind of fish?"

Azure turned directly toward her, massive blue eyes meeting hers.

"We are neither, human! We are _Mermaids_ , denizens of Neverland and ruled by the gentle and talented Maple! You touch her and you'll suffer a slow death beneath the depths!"

Lively contemplated those words aloud, in her typical fashion.

"So you're _mermaids_. Got it. But who's Maple?"

"The girl you just scared into the water!"

Maple raced up to the surface gasping for air. Her fear compressed her lungs and didn't allow enough air to get in. Lively ignored Azure as she talked to the girl.

"Oy, Maple, right? Can you get your friends to stop trying to attack Peter? He didn't mean to do that."

She waded in the blue water, surrounded by her aquatic bodyguards, with the advantage in her favour.

"And why should I do that? You'll just kill me when my guard is down."

The mermaids hissed in unison. Lively stepped back while motioning to Buckeye to step in. By the time he could gain composure, the mermaids whisked her away, the biggest one carrying her on its dorsal fin.

They all stared in unison as the mermaids sunk beneath the blue waters, their splashing turning to waves at their feet.

"Why did you do that for?! How could you not tell that she was a grown up?" Lively stormed up to her mentor, blood rushing to her cheeks as sand covered her feet with each step.

He just shrugged his freckled shoulders, the sunlight illuminating a halo of red around his head.

"She was so far away. How was I supposed to know?" He turned away and started building a castle out of the sand, Buckeye and Foxtail joining him soon afterwards. He was about to put the tiles on the roof when he noticed that she wasn't helping. She just stood there, her usually animated arms tightly folded against her chest.

"What's wrong, Lively? Why don't you join us? There's still a water closet to build."

She never understood how he worked like that, going from one task to another without caring about what just happened. As she forgot about the whole ordeal and helped build the chimney, she never saw the boy watching from the other side of the islet, with a crocodile not too far behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

His world had been set on fire, and he was terrified…

It all seemed to be a blur.

His father's screams...

His mother's screams...

His world had always been screams.

He saw gas leak out of the radiator.

Someone lit a match.

By the time the energy in his legs gave way, he had outrun an explosion, slipped away from a police car and an ambulance, climbed beneath a bridge, jumped five fences, and sought refuge in a garden as big as his world had been small. He woke up in a world where the air didn't smell of mold and diesel petrol, and the sun embraced his weary body.

Immediately he slipped out of his tight t-shirt, stuck to his chest with sweat, and let his thin arms dangle lazily to the sides. He wiggled his taunt shoulders as he basked in the sunlight of a different, happier color.

He likes his nickname better than his actual name, so we'll call him Talon instead of Whitney. He is short for his age with tan- coloured skin stretching thinly over his muscles and face. His cheekbones make a good frame for the dark eyes on the sides of his upturned nose. He pushed his bangs away as rustling came from the thick brush. At first, he blushed. He never showed his bare chest to anyone, let alone while wearing ripped pants and no shoes. Then the blood rushed away as he saw a behemoth of a crocodile saunter out of its nest into the sunny morning, its mouth open to accept the sun's rays. He slid to the reptile's side, feeling increasingly more comfortable wearing only pants, and hopped on a felled tree.

"'Morning, Crocky. Out for a stroll?"

It stayed put, charging its body like it fed off of light.

Talon's stomach rattled beneath his ribcage as images of food raced through his mind. He wished he had brought something edible before he left. Talon ignored those gripes as the sun waved at the moon as they passed each other by.

Memories of raising it from a tiny egg appeared in his mind. He remembered holding the little baby in his hands, clasped around it like a mother's jaws, and brought it into the waters. It learned to prey on dragonflies and salamanders, while bringing big birds down to share them with Talon. The crocodile grew to a monstrous size, from cuddling with him at night to becoming his scaly pillow. Its growls became friendlier, the vibrations a massage chair, the teeth became tools for helping its long-time friend.

He remembered the reptile.

The massive scaley leviathan raised its head to meet his hand. Its eyes closed as Talon scratched its head. He sniffled away the realization that such a beast loved him and followed it into the murky water of the lagoon.

* * *

As they lazily drifted through the water, a herd of white rabbits grazed a field in a spot amongst the shady pear and sycamore trees. Crocky waited by the brook. Talon sunk into the warm water and crawled on all fours to the edge of the trees on the other side, his fingers and toes smudged to the point of matching the dirty forest floor.

The morning sun heated up the air. He felt the sweat drops fall down the line of his spine, from his bangs into his eyes. He blinked them away as he waited for absolute silence. Then came the fun part; he leaped out from the shelter and gave chase to the heard of hundreds of rabbits.

"OOGA BOOGA OOGA BOOGA LAYAYLAYLAYLAY HA!"

He laughed as he screamed, the sweat flying off of his face. Talon knew exactly where to push them.

The lagoon. Into the mouth of a patient crocodile.

Talon rested on the crocodile's ragged back, chewing the remains of a rabbit leg. They got 15 rabbits today, enough to keep Crocky full and content. They floated down the river in complete bliss, even so far as to sail across a waterfall without batting an eyelash.

For the first time in his life, Talon felt happy.


	6. Chapter 6

Peter swooped low in the forest. The canopy covered the underbrush with curtains of leaves, the sunlight turning into columns on the forest floor. Only one person would be found here at a given time, and it certainly wasn't a boy capable of flight.

Buckeye heard Peter coming and his eyes widened.

Not this again.

"Buckeye! You've disobeyed me and must be KILLED!"

Peter slammed his feet into the dirt, his toes gripping the moist soil. The boy turned around to face his father, his broad shoulders loose by his sides.

"What have I done, Father?"

"You never came for tea! I had everyone waiting for over an hour!"

"I'm sorry Father! It won't happen again!"

Buckeye slunk back towards the trees, away from the freshly planted carpet.

"We'll make sure of that, Buckeye!"

Peter unsheathed his sword. "As the Father of our household, I must punish the children! Discipline is the answer!"

He lunged forward as Buckeye hid behind a tree. The sword dove into the tree, cleanly passing through a hole in the trunk.

"I'll come next time, Father! I will, honest!"

Peter lunged again, missing Buckeye's shoulder by inches.

"That's what you said last time!"

And so the fight began. Peter jumped behind the tree, only to see Buckeye furiously climbing up the trunk.

"You can't escape me this time, Buckeye!"

Peter crouched down and leaped up, meeting where Buckeye was going to be- had Buckeye not grabbed some adjacent vines and swung away like a monkey. Peter saw the swinging vines and gave chase.

Peter tried to intercept Buckeye but got preoccupied with dodging interwoven tree brances, vines and flowers. Meanwhile, the larger boy dived, swung, pounced, leaped, and climbed across the most chaotic mess of foliage we've ever seen. By the time Peter found his way through the overgrowth, Buckeye had dropped out of the forest and into the cavernous caves near the edge of the forest.

He sat in silence as the waves crashed around him. Peter would know to check here, he just knew it. Would Peter even know to come here?

"Ummm, excuse me, Sir, but-"

Buckeye nearly jumped out of the cave in fright.

He turned around to see a small girl and a smaller boy crouched in the caves behind him.

* * *

"What's the matter, Peter? You didn't take your medicine today?"

Peter angrily swung at Lively with his sword as she flipped around him, the rocks becoming a stage under her hands and feet.

"As your Father, you must do as I say!"

She stopped jumping around and stayed in mid-air.

"When were you, my father? I have no father! Never had one, never will!"

Peter stopped as well.

"Then you must be a GROWN-UP!"

His nostrils flared up as no swing hit true. She laughed in response.

"GROWN-UP? ME? Surely, you must have breathed in too much fairy dust!"

She continued to race across the rocky plains of Neverlands, near Skull rock, when she got an idea.

"Peter, I know how I can prove to you that I'm a grown-up."

The little boy stopped swinging his sword. "How?"

She pointed out to Skull Rock, white teeth jutting out of the broken jawline, ebbed away by wind and high tides.

"Every grown-up can beat children in a race. However, if you win in a race to Skull Rock, I will let you strike me true."

Peter gleefully agreed since he was the fastest in the world, so fast that he could fly.

"Ready," Lively bent into a running position.

"Steady," Peter interrupted.

Neither of them called GO, as Peter launched ahead. His feet never touched the ground as the wind cheered him on. Lively didn't stand a chance.

He reached Skull rock with plenty of time for the tide to wash another body away.

Yet Lively was nowhere to be seen.

Peter looked at the rocks for sandy footprints. None were to be found.

She didn't even race. Before she even took her first step, she bolted in the other direction, away from the heartless little boy.

She laughed to herself as she crawled through the grottos beneath the island, on her way to her favorite place overlooking the shoreline on the other side of the island.

* * *

It didn't take long before Foxtail came to Peter's mind. Before long, the little boy got stuck in the cloud maze Foxtail ran into.

* * *

By the time Peter returned to the Hangman's tree, he was greeted by two knives, a lance, and two bows with arrows in them.


	7. Chapter 7

p data-p-id="c09311aa66a2208835880cfd00281d25"The grottos crawled underneath Neverland, bringing flowing water along with winding paths above the surface of the river. Electric eels illuminated the water's surface as the two of them trekked along in silence. Foxtail and Lively were too curious to be scared of the darkness. They knew that the only things that scared them was their own imagination, so they only thought the happiest things possible. Each time one of them had a happy thought, the eels shined brighter, the water flowed calmer and they smiled at each other. Foxtail's tail would whip around in excitement and Lively's freckles would dance./p  
p data-p-id="02697446caa464c1018dfc1c7c49ab60""HELLOOOOooooooooo."/p  
p data-p-id="1cdaffc0af4c4a7ccfeec56a307ccbeb"The calls echoed through until it bounced back to them./p  
p data-p-id="20a1acb6d9cb1f1fe88ced7a4db9d4e5""Helloooooo," Foxtail called back, "Hoooowwww arrrrrrrrre yoooooooou?"/p  
p data-p-id="fb752bfbb698823b495446bf8db1e3d9""FaaaaaaaanTASTIC!" Lively replied to hoots of laughter. The eels shined another way to go. Foxtail's tail could whip a fly away from 15 feet. Lively's freckles danced a konga line./p  
p data-p-id="0a27a7833fc6706c574c0a5b32c28a3d"Rivers of glowing light flowed throughout the cave, even glowing from the ceiling, to a bright opening on the other side. It opened to another side of Neverland, overlooking a coral reef surrounded by shady mangroves and birch shoots. Brightly coloured fish dotted the water as they looked out beyond blue waters, catching a glimpse of Maple dancing with her mermaids alongside the horizon of blue colour./p  
p data-p-id="8987842aeae6871e77db9c5d470ebe2e"As they skipped on the water's ripples and crawled through the wave's holes, they didn't speak a word. Foxtail and Lively knew each other well enough not to need conversation between them all of the time. Besides, the Fairy Festival would be coming up soon, and they needed a gift to present to the fairy queen. Lively had already chosen a gift, but Foxtail needed an idea. As they reached the other side and found different ways to climb the same thicket, Foxtail still hadn't thought of a good idea./p  
p data-p-id="c1a7024e01dff05bda503c4d0d234832""Hey, Lively?"/p  
p data-p-id="003836c34976d644cd139a27c8260f2a""Yeah Foxtail?"/p  
p data-p-id="e2e513868eb33e2bd7aa455422aacfef""What can I get them?"/p  
p data-p-id="ce2a17e809d4725add549966cb372970""Get who?"/p  
p data-p-id="eb08853ef8235fe7cbdd4bff1e62476e""The Fairy Queen and the Indians. I can't think of anything to get for them."/p  
p data-p-id="b1fd1cb107bb9e2a392fd67ac5bb1211""Why not something scary?"/p  
p data-p-id="88621a866fe71d092039a6b87b8fe84d""But that would scare away the children."/p  
p data-p-id="d5d9611349783d860e6efe4c798e0aca""That's true..."/p  
p data-p-id="a14bd1ed7833611f990b1763ab43e46f"Lively plopped a finger onto her chin as her feet flew through the leaves./p  
p data-p-id="7c0e577599b134ca8b1946a87c065222""I would get them something gross."/p  
p data-p-id="5d535c51952328c2baf2cc5d9cf40b0b""You have the worst ideas."/p  
p data-p-id="87a63113631892742b3f8a587ec4c6e9""At least I have a few. Unlike someone who doesn't have any."/p  
p data-p-id="dc5c512ee5bac7d443e9f28748aae37e"She jolted a shoulder upwards as her eyes rolled to the trees./p  
p data-p-id="88a905ae65b76c93477a3bd2dcd2bc24""You asked me. I told you what I have in mind for you to get them...at least what I'm thinking of right now."/p  
p data-p-id="ca6e38b28e243da9ebcf0bda26ab5793""What in Neverland could you be thinking that is scary and gross?"/p  
p data-p-id="0b66b7b524590d810719747b5225eebf"Lively hadn't been looking where she glided until she fell flat into a mud puddle./p  
p data-p-id="61ce6d0dd70d5f66c29df3f469ef0b5f"BLORP/p  
p data-p-id="cb2504f7204dbe96d1bbd036309623e4"Her eyes pierced through the mud dripping off her face./p  
p data-p-id="394b59973c2cd6dcc1152aae57439b50""I guess that was it."/p  
p data-p-id="410386d9f76bb3478c9a225f29c5b34a"She looked down at her favourite shirt covered in mud... and had an idea./p  
p data-p-id="032e6fc57618c9f7c26d420ce84db049""Here, catch!"/p  
p data-p-id="e4b8f06e415e7450c29b2b28f8278243"She gripped a splatter of mud and threw it at him, smacking him straight in the face./p  
p data-p-id="4946c368a6b72914f16432dfc2e55fb3""Oh you clumsy clod! I'll get you back for that!"/p  
p data-p-id="7b5f439eb2ef6e4db20c3866e033c4c0"He rushed her into the mud pile, sending sloppy mud everywhere. By the time their ruckus ended, there wasn't a single drop on the ground, and a dozen fairies laughing along with the two mud-soaked children in the distance./p  
p data-p-id="25758454ae5f9c479a366f52cff5ecb2"They decided to cool off in one of the many lagoons floating above the island, swaying atop a massive flamingo indifferent to the two children climbing atop its massive legs. As they slithered into the warm waters, they didn't notice someone watching them from above the flamingo's head./p  
p data-p-id="088cf451ffc0d3350b153d0f868d9e43""'Allo, muddy freaks!"/p  
p data-p-id="7c5734527247b54aba7085b6ace39627"They slunk backwards as they recognized the mermaid princess./p  
p data-p-id="2994beb86944d83f260dd5c8d68fa92c""Where are your mermaids, O great and talented one?" Lively didn't know of sarcasm, only genuine emotions; that was fear. Foxtail admirably watched her bravery./p  
p data-p-id="070c2fb911ef81bc1c5892a93e051137""Them? They're too afraid to come up here. Besides, they're napping not too far away. You seem not to scary, so I can trust you. Right?/p  
p data-p-id="79585bb3395582d5c96cef8e52ddbba7"The two of them nodded as their mud slipped away, keeping the water clean. She slid down the flamingo's neck and into the blue water, the three children fitting comfortably in the lagoon./p  
p data-p-id="c2aa102103d2933a074657dea0de8ad5""Why is your name Maple?"/p  
p data-p-id="be541b81cc4299c859fbd25e005528ad""Why is yours... Wait, I don't know yours. What are they anyway?"/p  
p data-p-id="1c55fc89176772c4bcff908483340709"The two of them took glances, as if giving away a deep secret. Then they brought their faces back towards hers and Lively spoke first./p  
p data-p-id="31e7f161517e66b457ac5f78a87fc5c3""I'm Lively and this is Foxtail. He's got a tail and Peter tells me I'm ener-getic. He never explained what that word means. Maybe I should ask him."/p  
p data-p-id="709b5783daa971c83fcaea60f1d79826""He's got a what?!" Maple's eyes opened wide as not only did she hear that, but when Foxtail actually showed her his tail, she actually got to see one. Something definitely was odd about this place.../p  
p data-p-id="a369a225112259b1762187069c34a5e1""So who's Peter?"/p  
p data-p-id="ef5417253698569fb011d461b0ca5955"Foxtail tried stopping her, but she said it anyway./p  
p data-p-id="a9e1e1706283c9f80110aa05c0d15004""He was the one who attacked you yesterday... well, by accident."/p  
p data-p-id="79337f8b450f18e4ca1ac84ac5643077""Yeah, he didn't know who you were..."/p  
p data-p-id="0223bb1c91df7b988c046c91a660fa35""So why did he do it if he didn't know me?"/p  
p data-p-id="e2114fd99452995d9aa814700a928d45"They both shrugged their shoulders simultaneously. Maple raised an eyebrow in contemplation. Her arms stretched as far around the lagoon as possible, as if her personal lounge chair. A cloud lazily drifted between the flamingo's legs./p  
p data-p-id="6633d2eba1cc6b4deab51625dd9bf4ab""So, how did you get to this crazy island?"/p  
p data-p-id="32966b7a24d937e907a363a64240fd74""No idea," Lively put a finger to her chin again./p  
p data-p-id="867d6313ce6003a18b47605173c332b8""The last thing I remember was waking up here, with a big bandage on my head, like I had fallen into Neverland. Wait, I don't remember falling... I have no idea how I got here. What about you?"/p  
p data-p-id="4d6bad96ed71373a97d46b0b778a787a"Foxtail's eyes looked upwards in thought while Maple readied herself to answer the question. By the time she began to answer, they all felt the water cool down to uncomfortable levels so they all agreed to jump into the ocean below. The waters eagerly ran up to greet the three of them, as the mermaids rushed up to greet them./p  
p data-p-id="72524a43b37039960c708ac8b775427c""Before you greet me, meet Lively and Foxtail. They are my friends, and therefore yours as well. That is the rule of the waters. Capisce?"/p  
p data-p-id="fcbe674a2a5b0b924353edab67804d50"Azure agreed on behalf of the rest of them and brought them all to the warm mainland, the sand warm to the touch and drying their bodies as they lay on the sand with the Mermaid princess. She weaved her tale with big words and hand waves, mesmerizing Azure, Lively, Silverfin, Sirena, Dolphin, Foxtail and Madeline with how she got to Neverland. As they walked together into the darkening brush and to the festival, Foxtail knew what gift to give to the Indians and Queen Mabs of the fairies./p 


End file.
